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30

It's totally safe. In fact a friend and I were just discussion how safe we felt there compared to other parts of SEA.

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31

please be adviced to wear polite dress.

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32

Bozzman - It is now compulsory for Indonesians to learn English as a Second Language while they are in high school. Therefore, it is extremely likely that you will run into MANY people who can speak Bahasa Inggris. I wouldn't stress about it - having said that, Indonesians are always over the top impressed if you have a go at speaking a bit of Bahasa Indonesia!

Useful word to stop people pestering? Jangan! (=don't! Pronounced 'jung-un') Particularly useful if you find yourself surrounded by hawkers who want to take you by the arm to see their batik gallery / if you're being touched by some skanky person.
Sudah = all ready (pronounced 'soo-dah') - good for when you are in touristy places to say (perhaps lie) that you have already bought whatever item they are offering you (in the hope that they will stop asking you!).
And of course, Makasih! = terima kasih, thank you

I love Indonesia....... Have fun!

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33

you'll be fine... just use your common sense like you would anywhere in the world

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34

#32 How can anywhere be totally safe. Ever walked around Tanjung Priok at night.

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35

You'll be fine. Just use common sense, and you'll have no problem.

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36

I wouldn't give too much credibility to someone stating that Indonesia (or anywhere else) is "totally safe". There is a risk associated with travelling to anywhere in the world but those risks have to be put in context, for example how do they compare with the daily risks you are prepared to accept in your home town or country. No-one 'expects' to die in a terrorist bombing but then no-one 'expects' to die in a motor vehicle accident either although the risk of the latter happening to you in most places (including Indonesia) is much greater...

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37

...however, I'm sure no one takes the words "totally safe" entirely at face value... When applying the adjective "safe" to a country these days what people usually mean is that it's not like Bhagdad...
I would say, by way of an example, that Iraq is totally unsafe (though I've been to enough rumoured unsafe countries to concede that there possibly are "safe" bits up in the mountains of Kurdistan, though probably not "totally safe"). On the other had I would guess that Bhutan is "totally safe", while admitting that there's still a rogue chance there of being gored to death by a rabid yak... or something like that...
In my opinion Indonesia - on the "is it like Iraq?" scale - is pretty damn safe.

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